Will humanoids be the growth engine of the 21st century?

Investing.com -- Humanoid robots are moving rapidly from experimental prototypes to real-world workers, a shift Barclays says could redefine global labor markets and industrial supply chains.

Analyst Zornitsa Todorova wrote in a note to clients that “AI’s next frontier is physical,” with humanoids, robots built in human form, beginning to take on “tough, repetitive jobs humans increasingly avoid.”

Barclays argued that humanoids merge “where physical power meets cognitive intelligence,” combining mechanical strength with advanced AI.

Demographic pressures are said to be accelerating adoption. Ageing populations, labor shortages, and shifting worker preferences are creating demand for robots capable of “human-like interaction and dexterity,” particularly in manufacturing, logistics, agriculture, healthcare, and hospitality.

The firm highlighted the so-called “three Bs” of the humanoid supply chain, “brains, brawn and batteries.”

Barclays said advances across all three have cut unit costs by 30-fold in the past decade, but noted that brawn, the robotic “muscles” powered by actuators, accounts for roughly half of production costs and could become a bottleneck as deployment scales.

The report compared humanoids to “cars in miniature,” with thousands of precision components and supply chains resembling those of the automotive industry. This overlap, Barclays said, gives a structural advantage to regions with deep manufacturing expertise, particularly Europe.

Barclays estimated that the humanoid market, currently just $2 billion to $3 billion, could reach $200 billion by 2035.

The firm feels “physical AI could be the next big investment theme,” arguing that actuator makers, automation leaders, and precision component suppliers stand to benefit as humanoids enter a new era of commercial expansion.

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